Audience
This article is intended for faculty using the iClicker Cloud software to do in-class polling.
Platform
iClicker
Contents
Using iClicker Cloud in the Classroom
This article will address how to use the iClicker Cloud software to do in-class polling. It will explain different features offered by the software, and the best practices for delivering and grading polls as an in-class activity.
iClicker is different from other SRS (Student Response System softwares in that you don't need to add your questions and content to the software. Instead, the iClicker software captures a view of your full screen and sends it to students' devices, allowing them to answer the questions in your already-created content - whether it be a PowerPoint presentation, a document, an image, a browser, or a video. Questions can then be graded quickly and directly through the iClicker software. This makes iClicker is a light, flexible solution for in-class polling and on-the-fly questions.
Presenting to Students
iClicker captures your full screen and pushes it to students' devices so they can easily see the questions. This is more accessible for visibility-impaired students and works better with screen readers.
In addition to the screen capture, it may be to your advantage to project onto a screen while following along with in-class activities.
Besides offering an additional reference point for students following along, you can use the instructor view of the iClicker software to show students the class results (which are anonymous in aggregate view), to mark answers as correct, to visualize responses as a word cloud, and more!
Step 1: Prepare Your Question/Lecture Presentation
Before opening iClicker Cloud to do polling, it's a good idea to have your poll questions written somewhere. Many instructors add questions to their PowerPoint presentations, which are advantageous because you can present them in a full-screen view. Since iClicker captures your whole screen, this will be the best view for students on their devices.
An example PowerPoint slide for use in an iClicker activity
The same slide, captured by iClicker and pushed to student devices
Question Types in iClicker Polling
Instructors polling with iClicker have access to the following question types:
Multiple Choice, which allows students to make a simple selection to answer a question (generally framed as A,B,C,D,E, Yes/No, or True/False) - although students can only submit one answer, you can mark multiple answers as correct.
Multiple Answer, in which students can select multiple letter responses A through E. As in multiple choice, multiple answers can be marked correct.
Short Answer, which allows students the ability to respond with a freeform input. Multiple correct answers can be chosen, a 'best' correct answer can be clarified, instructors can submit their own answer, and responses can be viewed as a Word Cloud.
Numeric allows students to respond with open-ended numeric values, scientific notation, and exponents.
Target allows instructors to ask questions by sending an image to students (i.e, an image on a lecture slide, in your web browser, or a still from a paused video.) Students answer the Target question by clicking or tapping on the image using their devices. Then, the question is graded by selecting a rectangular area of the image within which all answers are marked correct.
For more information on individual poll question types in iClicker, visit the following article: Polling Question Types in iClicker
Exit Poll
While not available from the 'Poll' feature, Exit Polls are great options for getting feedback from students at the end of class. Whenever you end a class session, you will be asked if you wish to run an Exit Poll. If you choose to do so, students are prompted to mark their level of understanding of course material and identify their 'Muddiest Point.' For more information on conducting an Exit Poll, visit the following article: How to Run an Exit Poll in iClicker Cloud
Step 2: Start a Polling Activity in iClicker Cloud
- From your device, open the iClicker Cloud software.
- Log in using your instructor email and password.
- Hover over the class you are doing an activity for and click the "Start Class" button. Instruct students to join the session from their devices, either at student.iclicker.com or from the iClicker Student app.
- The iClicker toolbar will open at the top of your screen.
The iClicker Toolbar
The iClicker toolbar will hover over your lecture content so you can easily access it when needed during class. You can move the toolbar to the location on your screen that works best for you, and iClicker will remember its most recent location each time you start class.
Click the Cloud icon to expand, or minimize, the toolbar. When you reach the point in your lecture where you wish to poll students, maximize the iClicker toolbar and make sure your presentation is opened in presentation mode or Full Screen.
The iClicker toolbar minimized and hovering over a presentation.
The iClicker toolbar maximized over a presentation in presentation view, ready to begin an activity
- Click the 'Poll' button from the expanded toolbar.
- Choose the relevant choice from the dropdown menu.
- Make sure that your screen is presenting the question in Full Screen, or if looking at a PowerPoint presentation, in presentation mode.
- Click the green 'Play' button to start polling. It will ask you which screen you want to present. Select the relevant screen or window you wish to capture and click 'Select.'
- The green 'Play' button will change to a red 'Stop' button and the toolbar will start timing the activity. You will see your number of responses start to update in real-time.
- Once you are ready, stop the activity by clicking the 'Stop' button, and click the 'Results' tab to see answers. From here you can choose correct answers and use other features.
More Polling Options
Click the three dots "More" button to access the following features:
- Anonymous Mode
In courses, you can choose to ask a question in Anonymous mode. This allows you to ask sensitive questions students might feel less comfortable answering were their identity associated with their response. Note you cannot grade Anonymous questions, but can grant participation points.
- Timer Settings
You can change a timer counting up, the default, to a countdown timer. Note by default the countdown timer is set to 30 seconds - to adjust its length, go into Course Settings > Polling > Toolbar > Timer and adjust the "Count Down From" time.
- Confidence
The 'Confidence' feature allows your students to select a rating of how confident they are about their answer to your question. Your course's aggregate rating score for the question is then shown as a percentage out of 100 in the lower left corner of your question results. You can click 'Details' to see how many students rated themselves as Very Confident, Confident, Somewhat Confident, or Not Confident. This feature is anonymous, i.e, you cannot see how individual students rated themselves.
Polling Settings
The course settings for polling available to you include the ability to adjust settings for:
- Session Participation
- Participation Points
- Session Performance
- Whether scores are based on individual poll questions or the total polling session
For more on adjusting your polling settings in iClicker, visit the following article: How to Manage iClicker Cloud Course Settings
How to Grade Questions and Responses
After students submit their responses, you can mark answers as correct from the Results section.
Viewing Results and Setting Correct Answers
- Select the Results icon in the iClicker toolbar to view class responses.
- Select an answer choice by clicking it to indicate that it is correct - it will turn green. Select it again to toggle it to incorrect - it will turn red - or twice to set it to ungraded - it will turn purple. You can choose multiple correct answers.
- Note on grading Target questions - to grade the 'Target' question type, click and drag a box over the correct answer area in the question. Try to make sure the box encloses students' correct submission points.
- Note on grading Short Answer questions - If you select multiple correct answers, you can also select a start icon to the right of the 'best' response. This response will be displayed as the correct answer in the iClicker Student app's Study Tools functions. If none of your students submitted the answer you were looking for, you can enter your own response into the Other field at the bottom of the window. To display Short Answer results as a Word Cloud, you can click the Word Cloud view next to the "Responses" view.
More Options in "Results"
You can use some other features in the Results window, among them:
- Use the arrows under 'Results' to navigate through the other questions you've asked in the current class session
- Click the 'Compare' view (two overlapping screens icon) to easily compare answers to one question with those given for another
- Select the three dots next to the Question to Delete Question or, if you need to quickly grade all student responses as correct, Mark All Correct.
Student Tools
Students have access to some tools for analyzing past class sessions and their performance. By helping familiarize students with these tools, accessible in the iClicker Student app, you can help students make the most of the iClicker tool to support their success in your course! A brief rundown of these tools and their functionalities:
Grades: Students can view their scores in your class activities for the entire semester, with an overall percentage, a bar chart of individual scores, and their full attendance record.
Class History: Allows students to see all activities run in your course over the semester.
Study Tools: These features create individualized flash cards from the questions you have asked in class that students can review on their own time.
Assignments: Shows students any work assigned to them by you through the iClicker tool, such as 'Quizzes', another iClicker feature designed for asynchronous work. For more information about Quizzes in iClicker, visit the following article: How to Run Quizzes with iClicker Cloud
Additional Features
Focus Mode - From the 'Device" tab in your Course settings you can choose to put iClicker in Focus Mode during your class sessions. This will show you how often students left the app during your class session, and students will receive their own report showing how well they did in staying focused during class. For more information on using the Focus feature, visit the following article: How to Help Students Stay on Task with iClicker Focus